Monthly Archives: September 2022

VALLEJO A Black Lives Matter mural will be painted on the street in front of Vallejo City Hall on Saturday during a day-long block party that will feature local musicians, food and activities for children.

The party will be hosted by Askari Sowonde Productions 411 Series - Vallejo Seeking Solutions and run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 500 block of Santa Clara Street.

The community is invited to help paint the mural while being entertained by local musicians, including bluesman Alvon Johnson, percussionist Zebra Man, jazz guitarist David El and vocalist Jasmine Robinson.

The Greater Vallejo Recreation District and the John F. Kennedy Library will host arts and crafts activities for kids. A food truck and some classic cars will round up the scene. Speakers will include Mario Saucedo of Solano AIDS Coalition and Vallejo City Councilmember Tina Arriola.

The project comes to fruition after a two-year delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sowonde, an activist and event organizer, first proposed the mural to the Vallejo City Council in 2020, which voted 5-2 in favor of the mural later that year.

This wasnt an easy decision for some of them, but it was worth it to many of us, Sowonde told the Vallejo Sun.

Sowonde and local artists Mishel Deniz Adolph, Mario Saucedo, Atsie Pirtle, Verlannia Manchester and Randy Babb designed the mural, which was approved by the Vallejo Arts Commission in 2021.

Unlike other Black Lives Matter murals of unadorned type, this one includes two colorful portraits and bright, artistic lettering. It will be painted in one line on Santa Clara Street with the words facing City Hall.

Sowande said she knows that having the words written down on the ground does not necessarily mean that minds will be opened. This is solely about our people, our way of life being recognized, and saying that we're here, that you need to see us, and things need to change, she said.

A flier announcing the event includes the phrase "Black Lives Matter is NOT about An Organization." The #BlackLivesMattter and #BLM hashtags first erupted on social media after the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman, who killed Trayvon Martin in Florida. The slogan was reportedly created by one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, which has since attracted criticism over their financial practices.

Sowonde said the slogan is about a fight that has gone on in this country for 100 years and that she sees it as a progression of the Black is Beautiful movement of the 1960s, when James Brown sang, "Say it Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud.

Its about the history of our people and the fact that we're still struggling like crazy in 2022, she said.

The mural was not supported by all. Councilmembers Rozzanna Verder-Aliga and Hakeem Brown were the two dissenting votes against the project. Brown made a long statement criticizing "empty platitudes," saying that it is hypocritical to paint a Black Lives Matter mural when education is underfunded and many Black Vallejo youth lack opportunity.

Sowonde responded to Browns criticism, saying he "thinks differently than a lot of us, but in a way he's right. We need action, not only words.

She said she sees the mural as making a statement to set an intention for positive future actions, not as a statement that the fight is over. I'm hoping that when they walk across it that their minds will open, but Im not naive, she said.

This is about being seen and visible in this community, Sowonde said. Were not seen at city council.

A Black Lives Mural painted in Martinez in July of 2020 was repeatedly vandalized and ended up being paved over within the same year. Sowande says she is concerned that there will be pushback, but said, At some point, I have to stop worrying. What shall be will be.

For more information or to find out how you can participate in the block party celebration contact Mishel Deniz Adolph at misheldeniz53@gmail.com.

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Black Lives Matter mural to be painted in front of Vallejo City Hall Saturday - The Vallejo Sun

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Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman said at one point during his political career that he holds a "Black Lives Matter kind of worldview" and appeared to insist that crime rates in major cities are tied to how much they "don't embrace" the movement, calling the notion "common sense."

Fetterman's remarks, offered during an interview with The Pitt News in August 2016, came during his tenure as Braddock mayor after he failed to garner his party's nomination for the Senate earlier that year.

"Let me take issue with the anti-establishment," Fetterman said. "I never positioned myself as anti-establishment. In fact, I was the only elected official in my race, I point out. Katie McGinty never held elected office and [Joe] Sestaks only elected office was a term, I believe, in Congress before he started running. So this idea that I was anti-establishment I just ran on what I felt were important, common sense issues whether that was a living wage, marijuana legalization, a Black Lives Matter kind of worldview, but also a community policing."

Fetterman, who said at the time that he did not consider his position on various issues to be "radical," claimed it's "common sense" that cities that "don't embrace" the Black Lives Matter movement have higher crime rates.

DEM SENATE CANDIDATE JOHN FETTERMAN DEFENDS PULLING GUN ON UNARMED BLACK JOGGER IN 2013

John Fetterman speaks during a pro-choice rally at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. (Michelle Gustafson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"All these different issues that I ran on never felt like they were radical or very leftist, they just felt like common sense to me. Its like, what happens if you dont embrace Black Lives Matter? Well, you look at what happens in Baltimore, at what happens in Chicago. I mean, thats common sense."

Fetterman garnered criticism late last month after he claimed that ID shouldnt be required to vote because "poorer" people and "people of color" are "less likely to have their ID."

The now-viral clip of Fetterman, which came from a 2021 interview between him and liberal pundit Brian Tyler Cohen, featured the candidates perspective on why requiring universal voter ID in Pennsylvania is a bad idea. In it, he said, "In my own state they are going to pass, attempt to pass, a constitutional amendment making sure that universal voting ID for every time you vote, not just when you sign up to vote, but every time you vote."

FETTERMAN TORCHED FOR SAYING POORER PEOPLE, MINORIOTIES LESS LIKELY TO HAVE ID TO VOTE: COMPLETELY RACIST

Fetterman explained the alleged dark motive behind this amendment, stating it will be passed"because they understand that at any given time theres tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians who typically are on the poorer side and are people of color that are less likely to have their ID at any one given time."

The Democratic Senate nominee has also faced criticism over a resurfaced 2013 incident in which he pulled a shotgun on an unarmed Black jogger whom he suspected of involvement in a nearby shooting. Fetterman has since said his actions were wrong, but initially defended himself by saying he heard the sound of automatic gunfire and rushed to confront the man he suspected of being responsible. Fetterman held the man, then-28-year-old Christopher Miyares, at gunpoint. Police who arrived at the scene searched Miyares and found that he was unarmed.

Fetterman, who has served as Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor since 2019, campaigned on Monday alongside three West Philadelphia council members who have publicly supported the Black Lives Matter movement and backed calls to "defund the police."

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican Senate nominee for Pennsylvania, and John Fetterman, the Democratic candidate, will face off in the Nov. 8 general election. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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"Three outstanding Councilmembers who are with me in my fight to turn out every vote here in Philly Support local Black-owned businesses," Fetterman said of the council members in a tweet.

Fetterman will face off in the November general election against Republican nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz in an effort to become Pennsylvania's next U.S. senator.

Fox News' Gabriel Hays and Thomas Barrabi contributed to this article.

Kyle Morris covers politics for Fox News. On Twitter: @RealKyleMorris.

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Fetterman said in 2016 he held a Black Lives Matter 'worldview,' considered viewpoints to be 'common sense' - Fox News

Police officers should not take the knee, the new Met commissioner has said.

Sir Mark Rowley, who took up the post last week, set out his position on how police officers should respond to the Black Lives Matter movement.

We should not align with any protest group, whether its a cause that everyone agrees with or a cause that only 1 per cent agrees with, he said.

At a Black Lives Matters protest over the death of George Floyd in 2020, a number of police officers were caught taking the knee with protestors.

Sir Mark told The Sunday Times: We are the police and we should operate without fear or favour. We get lost trying to please all of the people all of the time.

A Cambridge graduate who planned to join the police as a forensic scientist, Sir Mark said a formative experience in Birmingham as a young officer taught him a lesson about his own resilience.

Just 18 months into the job Sir Mark was attacked by a group of men as he tried to arrest a man who threw a beer bottle at a car window. They beat him unconscious as well as breaking his nose. It was a really important experience for me in my life, he said.

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Police should not take the knee with Black Lives Matter campaigners - The Telegraph

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) Black Lives Matter groups held a press conference on Wednesday discussing a lawsuit that alleges the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office is responsible for a 14-year-old Tampa boys death in 2014.

Representatives from Black Lives Matter Restoration Polk and Black Lives Matter Grassroots were joined by families of Black individuals whose lives were impacted by police brutality and racial injustice to discuss the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Andrew Joseph IIIs family.

The speakers called for an end to qualified immunity, which the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Officerepeatedly invoked in this case. Qualified immunity is a government protection that shields police officers and other officials from being sued. It can also block the release of information.

In my years of activism, I have had the unfortunate opportunity to work with countless families who have been impacted by police misconduct, police brutality and how these law-enforcement agencies are able to lean on qualified immunity in order to deprive families like the families behind me, and the Andrew Joseph family from the right to justice and accountability, said Pastor Carl Soto with Black Lives Matter Restoration Polk County Inc.

Andrew Joseph III and about 100 other teenagers were kicked out of the Florida State Fairgrounds on School Day in 2014 following a number of teen-involved fights and misconduct that broke out inside the fairgrounds, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office.

However, his parents maintain that their son wasnt involved, but was handcuffed and detained. They said deputies dropped him off by the interstate to meet his ride home.The 14-year-old was hit by a car while trying to cross I-4.

A number of safety measures have been taken at the fairgrounds since that incident to ensure that any minor in attendance is safe, such as the HCSO Community Action Team that will once again be at the fair on Student Night, the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office said in a statement to News Channel 8 earlier this year.

The Josephs said theyve seen changes in the fairgrounds policy since that night, like parents getting a call if their child is removed from the park and having them sit in a waiting area until their parents arrive. They wish their son had been given that option, avoiding what they say was an unnecessary interaction with police.

Wednesday marked day three of the wrongful death trial. The Black Lives Matter groups met outside the federal courthouse in Tampa along with the families of Emmett Till, Oscar Grant, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake, Markeis McGlockton and Ruben Debrosse.

Families rallied demanding change, saying their loved ones suffered the same racial injustice at the hands of law enforcement, including the family of Emmett Till.

Emmett was killed by a white mob and the police covered it up and again were seeing attempts to cover up again 66 years later, the same type of cover-up, said Tills cousin Magnolia Carter. I stand for justice, I want to see the end of qualified immunity and I want to see the justice for this family that they deserve.

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Black Lives Matter calls for end to qualified immunity, discusses lawsuit against HCSO in Tampa teens death - WFLA

A Warren city councilman accused of chasing down and handcuffing a woman who put Black Lives Matter stickers on yard signs for then-President Donald Trump has pleaded no contest to a lesser offense.

Warren City Councilman Edward Kabacinski entered the plea Monday in 38th District Court in Eastpointe, the day his case was scheduled for a jury trial.

Charges were authorized against Kabacinski, 48, in October 2020. A charge of impersonating a public officer, a one-year misdemeanor, was reduced to disturbing the peace, according to court records. A 93-day misdemeanor assault and battery charge was dismissed.

Warren City Council Member Eddie Kabacinski faces off against a racial justice protester during a confrontation on Hoover Road in Warren, Saturday, Sept.19, 2020. Counterprotesters played blaring sounds out of speakers and hurled insults at protesters, who then crossed over Hoover Road and confronted counterprotesters. Pushing and shoving ensued, and shortly after, protesters returned to their side of Hoover Road.

Judge Kathleen Galen sentenced Kabacinski to 12 months of probation with conditions, including anger management classes and no similar conduct or assaultive behavior, in addition to $1,055 in fines and costs.

Kabacinski's attorney, Stephen Rabaut, said the plea was taken under a section of the Michigan criminal code that allows for a delayed sentence. If Kabacinski does what he is required to do, the charge can be dismissed. The judge said she would review the matter in six months, Rabaut said.

Mr. Kabacinski isnt happy about the resolution, did not want to enter a plea, but at the advice of counsel elected to enter the plea because he saw it was probably in his best interest," Rabaut said.

Kabacinski could not be immediately reached for comment.

Rabaut said delays in the case were primarily related to COVID-19 or trial scheduling.

Warren City Councilman Eddie Kabacinski

More:Warren councilman faces criminal charges for 'arresting' woman over Trump signs

More:Warren City Council president blasts councilman arrested after selling Trump merchandise

This is not the first time Kabacinski has had runs-in with police.

He has a motion hearing Sept. 26 on an unrelated case in 41A District Court in Shelby Township after he was arrested by Utica police on a misdemeanor ordinance violation in 2021 after he allegedly peddled political merchandise without a sales permit during a Trump rally.

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In October 2021, Warren City Council members passed a resolution 5-2 to censure him for his misuse of his position as a councilman and removed him from committee assignments days after they said he was arrested for refusing to wear a mask inside the TCF Center during a Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission meeting.

Warren City Council President Pat Green told the Free Press on Monday: "I'm glad the courts have resolved this, and I hope that the victims of his crime are satisfied with the court's rule."

City of Warren city council member Eddie Kabacinski looks over maps as he listens to The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission holds its first public hearing on Oct. 20, 2021, at the TCF Center in Detroit. The hearings are an effort to solicit input on the draft maps they've drawn.

In October 2020, Kabacinski was investigated for his actions while attending a Trump rally in Eastpointe. St. Clair Shores police said when they arrived at Stephens and Kelly they found a Trump rally attendee had handcuffed a woman. An officer immediately took the woman out of the handcuffs, according to a police report.

Police said the then-24-year-old Eastpointe woman was chased down and handcuffed byKabacinski after shestuck three Black Lives Matter stickers on the Trump signs that were placed along the boulevard. WhenKabacinski grabbed the woman, shesprayed him with Silly String, according to the report.

It stated Kabacinski handcuffed her with her hands to the rear and sat her next to him until police arrived.

Kabacinski told C&G Newspapers he detained the woman because she acted to "breach the peace" by putting a 5-by-8-inch Black Lives Matter sticker on a Trump-Pence sign. He claimed he is a former military police officer and federal law allows him to detain those who breach the peace or break the law.

The woman was not facing criminal charges.

Kabacinski, a first-term member of the nonpartisan Warren City Council, is a Trump supporter who donned a military gas mask during an April 2020 City Council meeting and complained about a loss of freedom because of actions Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took to control the spread of the coronavirus in the pandemic's early days.

In September 2020, he took heat after he stood with counterprotesters at a march to support a Black family who lived in his council district and was thrice the victim of attacks because they had a Black Lives Matter sign in their front window.

More:Warren man, father plead no contest in attacks against Black neighbors

More:Detroit senator, Trump supporters among candidates booted from primary election ballots

Kabacinski showed up at the marchin military attire with a gun on his hip and carrying a large Trump flag. He stood with counterprotesters who he said were there to show support for law enforcement.

In May of this year, Kabacinski was disqualified from running for state office by the Michigan Department of State because he did not pay outstanding fines or filed missing campaign finance reports at the time he filed an affidavit to run for office, violating state campaign finance law.

Last month, Kabacinski was in an accident on I-696 that he said he and his campaign manager concluded was a targeted attack by those associated with the Democratic Party because of his political views. Michigan State Police told the Macomb Daily there was no indication the accident was intentional. The other driver was speeding.

Kabacinski was wearing a neck brace and using a walker at the most recent City Council meeting Sept. 13, according to video of the meeting.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Warren councilman pleads in case of 'arresting' woman over Trump signs

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Here's the punishment for Warren councilman who handcuffed woman over BLM stickers - Yahoo News

If you are a fan of the highly accredited HBO drama Euphoria, you might have come across the recent Sydney Sweeney Blue Lives Matter controversy which has blown up across multiple social media platforms in the past few weeks.

TikToks For You pages and Twitters timelines have been flooded with memes, threads and other forms of social media discourse being fired up in reaction to an Instagram post that featured Sydney Sweeneywho plays Cassie in the HBO showat a family gathering in which a guest in the background of Sweeneys mothers 60th birthday party was wearing a Blue Lives Matter Shirt. Though this controversy stems from something as minuscule as a t-shirt in the background of an Instagram post, Sweeney needs to understand her influential role and be more careful of what is included in her posts in the future.

Though Sweeney had no intention of sparking controversy from the image, nowadays everything posted on the internet is open for public debate and discourse in the comment section. Criticism is to be expected for any form of media released to the public. The Blue Lives Matter flag was formed in counter-protest to the Black Lives Matter movement and has been adopted by right-wing extremist groups. It is completely warranted for viewers of the post to have a heated reaction to the inclusion of the Blue Lives Matter shirt. It is only natural for people to raise an eyebrow in response to seeing this symbol on Sweeneys Instagram.

Due to the rise of political discourse on TikTok in the past two years, there has been a rise of identity politics that coin symbols as right or left leaning, such as the Blue Lives Matter imagery becoming a symbol of the right, and the LGBTQIA+ flag standing as a symbol of the left. Identity politics is harmful because it lacks nuance; politics are not black and white. One can be supportive of both Democratic leaning and Republican leaning policies without owing total allegiance to one party.

TikTok makes it easy to block content you do not want to see by blocking creators and clicking on the not interested button, which will remove all related videos from your feed. Depending on what side of the political spectrum you lean towards, you can make it possible to only consume media from your desired party. This omits all opposing opinions and ideas, making it difficult to consume balanced media. With that said, it is crucial to be open to all forms of media so you can form an opinion on an issue for yourself.

Identity politics also lack an aspect of critical thinking skills and opinion building- voting just based on identity makes it difficult to call out and hold candidates accountable, especially if you have similar identities. However, due to the increasing polarization of American politics stemming from the Trump presidency, political discourse has shifted to black or white, which negates nuance and does not represent how people decide what policies and agendas are important to them.

Sweeney has not been very outspoken about her political views, and communities on the internet have already deemed her cancelable and demanded a response about the post. An innocent celebration for my moms milestone 60th birthday has turned into an absurd political statement, which was not the intention. Please stop making assumptions, Sweeney tweeted.

Sweeney has since taken the photo down, but when one lives the life of a television star, everything you release into the world will be critiqued and picked at by internet users looking for any trace of something they can use against you.

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Does everything have to be a political statement? DU Clarion - DU Clarion